Formula 1 is set to ditch the halo cockpit protection system and prioritise the newly-introduced 'shield' concept for 2018.

The decision was taken in Tuesday's Strategy Group and F1 Commission meeting in Paris.

The halo had originally been on course for introduction this season before being postponed for further testing and an intended 2018 debut following a previous unanimous Strategy Group vote.

But the device, which teams trialled during practice sessions last year, had divided opinion.

During the Chinese Grand Prix weekend earlier this month, the alternative shield concept - a see-through screen that would not cover all of the cockpit - was presented by the FIA during the Friday drivers' briefing.

It has now emerged as the favoured choice, with the FIA stating: "A number of more integrated solutions for additional frontal protection have been studied, and the decision has been taken to give priority to the transparent 'shield' family of systems.

"The FIA aims to carry out track tests of this system during this season in preparation for implementation in 2018."

Touted as a better compromise between safety and aesthetics than the halo or Red Bull's proposed aeroscreen concept, the shield drew mixed reviews when shown to drivers.

Daniil Kvyat, Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean were among the sceptics about both the shield and the general need for cockpit protection, while Felipe Massa urged critics to prioritise safety over aesthetics.

The Formula 1 commission has halted the halo. At the same time, the FIA ​​announced that it would extensively test the "Shield" replacement solution in order to deploy it in 2018. Crucial is the judgment of the drivers.

The halo is dead, long live the shield. This is the same way to describe the recent decision of the Formula 1 Commission. Halo, known as "Halo" around the cockpit, was not approved by the teams and half of the drivers. Just as not the Red Bull shield presented a year ago in Sochi.
The FIA, under the direction of Laurent Meckies, has been working on a replacement solution for quite some time. It is a one-meter-long protective PVC shield integrated into the chassis. It should be able to defend flying objects from a maximum of one kilogram up to 225 km / h from the car and thus the driver. The project internally operates under the name "Shield" at the FIA.
The shield is visually the most beautiful solution
Until now, the protection screen was only presented to the teams and the drivers. Auto motor and sport has seen the sketches of the Shield. Of all solutions used so far, it is by far the most elegant. The disc, which is curved in the middle, begins where the nose passes into the chassis and runs in a line just above the chassis, behind the front cockpit edge. The sides of the disc are flush with the neck guard.
Before the shield regulation, it has to be tested in four stages. The first consists of computer simulations, followed by an accident in the laboratory . The disk is bombarded with a ball at the appropriate speed to see if it is holding. The third step takes place in the boxing race. The FIA ​​wants to check whether the drivers are disabled when entering and exiting.
The last part of the test series is the decisive one. The drivers will try the Shield in two Friday sessions to find out if the visibility is impaired. There are already concerns that the windscreen starts in the rain and turns the already already poor visibility into a total blind flight. If the timetable is observed, the driving tests will happen in Monza and Singapore.
Pilots not yet excited
The driver's judgment depends on whether the Shield is introduced in 2018. So far, the pilots are still cautious. "The Shield certainly looks better than the Halo - at least as far as the visual impression is concerned, but we have to try out on the track how it feels in the car," said Valtteri Bottas.
Daniel Ricciardo also commented on the decision of the FIA: "The first impression is okay, but now we have to start with the development, only then can we say more."

Always on the cutting edge of technology, Formula 1 will introduce a biometric glove for drivers next season which will monitor several medical factors.

The technology includes a small sensor stitched inside a driver's glove capable of measuring pulse rate and oxygen levels in the blood, two parameters essential in addressing a driver's medical condition in the event of an accident.

Ultimately, the technology, which is supported by the Global Institute for Motor Sport safety, will also have the ability to monitor body temperature and respiratory rate.

Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull drivers tested the special biometric glove in Hungary this summer.

In an interview with the FIA's in-house magazine Auto, FIA Deputy Medical Delegate Dr Ian Roberts spoke of the merits of the technology and its purpose.

"We know that the monitoring of people is essential in terms of their medical care," he said.
"Drivers in incidents are no different. We would like to start monitoring and assessing them as soon as we possibly can.

"But the equipment that we currently use is relatively bulky and is only applied after the incident has happened.

"There are also times when the driver isn’t immediately accessible to us, so if we can’t see him or we’re not actually next to him, there’s limited information that we can get."

As an example of the technology's function and use, Roberts pointed towards Carlos Sainz' accident in practice in Russia in 2015, when the Spaniard was trapped under a barrier, making his condition impossible to assess.

"Accurate monitoring was impossible until we got hands-on, and obviously we couldn’t do that until the barriers were moved," he said.

"If we had monitoring on him straight away we could have planned our rescue even better than we did.

"With this new technology, the moment a driver has an incident we will receive physiological readings and biometrics, so he is continually monitored from point zero right through to the initial response and on to the medical center."